1. Field of the Invention
The apparatus of the present invention relates to miniature trains. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus which can function as a miniature steam locomotive carrier or a portable steaming bay, so that when the bay is properly positioned adjacent a siding, the portable live steam engine may roll from the bay onto the siding tracks thus avoiding any hand manipulation of the steam engine in placement onto a siding.
2. General Background of the Invention
In the art of miniature trains, one of the more interesting miniature train assemblies includes the use of a live steam locomotive as part of the miniature train assembly. Such a locomotive is usually fed with coal or other fuel such as alcohol or butane, and is fired up so that the engine produces steam, as does a regular locomotive, and the live steam engine is then utilized to pull the miniature train around a particular track assembly. One of the problems that may be confronted in such a situation is that because of the delicate nature of a live steam locomotive, the person who is operating the locomotive must spend a great deal of time in getting the steam engine fired up properly, so that it can then be utilized on the track assembly. Usually the firing up of a miniature live steam locomotive is undertaken away from the track, so as to avoid the locomotive from interruption of any use of the track while it is being fired up. Although there are sidings which feed into the main track, one would not necessarily want to use the siding to fire up the locomotive since the sidings are utilized for the most part in allowing other train assemblies to move off of the main track while other assemblies move onto the track.
Therefore, the owners of miniature live steam locomotives have found various ways to move the locomotive from the point at which it has been fired up onto the siding so that it then may be utilized on the main track. As one can expect, this is a delicate matter in view of the fact that the locomotive, because it is a live steam locomotive, is often quite hot and unreceptive to being moved easily from one point to the next. Furthermore, manipulating a locomotive by one's hands may result in inadvertent dropping of the locomotive or damaging of the locomotive should one have to quickly release the locomotive due to heat or the like. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system where a live steam locomotive may be fired up and then moved onto an area adjacent a track siding so that the locomotive may then be moved onto the siding and be put in use.